South Africa, March 27 -- Brandon de Kock, director of storytelling at BrandMapp says, "By the fourth quarter of last year, South Africa's consumer confidence index was at -6 points. It's not the worst it's ever been, -36 points in 1985, and far from the best at 26 points in 2018. But it's a notable recovery from the recent pandemic lows which fell to -33 points in 2020. Take a step back and it looks to be a clear indication of the resilience of South Africa's consumer class who have quite a few tools at their disposal to deal with the rollercoaster of life."

Despite the sluggish economy and the cost-of-living crisis, De Kock says, "The important context to bear in mind here is that according to the latest National Treasury data, the con...